Bay City Commissioner Chad Sibley, 8th Ward, stands on the porch of a house at 402 E. North Union St. on Thursday, March 27, in Bay City. The house is on Bay City's dangerous buildings list and is set to be demolished.Yfat Yossifor | The Bay City Times

BAY CITY, MI —
There are about 80 buildings in Bay City today deemed dangerous.

Many of the buildings are considered blight. Windows are
boarded up, porches are collapsing and items like old toys and car tires are littered across the lots.

Of those properties, 14 are scheduled for
demolition this spring, and city officials are hoping they can use the
remainder of a $269,000 state grant to knock down an additional eight
buildings.

The remaining buildings on the dangerous buildings list are
tangled in red tape. Some are in the process of being repaired; some are in the notification and appeals process; others are still occupied.

There's progress, but no clear direction, according to city
leaders.

"There needs to be a better approach," said Bay City Commissioner
Chad Sibley, 8th Ward. "There are opportunities to get more money to
deal with blight and these buildings, but there needs to be a coordinated
effort."

Today, various groups and individuals have big ideas on how to
deal with blight and dangerous buildings in the city.

Some, like Sibley, say demolish as many homes as possible by
obtaining grants. Others say repairs and restoration is the smarter route. At
least one commissioner has called for a dedicated blight task force.
Members of Mayor Christopher Shannon's Neighborhood Revitalization Committee
say they want more support from the city to accomplish their mission of
cleaning up neighborhoods and getting rid of blight. Partnerships with Bay
County to address the problem are in the works. And Rick Finn, Bay City's new
city manager, has some fresh ideas of his own, based on his experience as a
city manager in four municipalities before arriving in Bay City.

"This needs to be a top priority," said Sibley. "There's a
lot of talk about it, but we need coordinated action."

Dangerous buildings

A number of factors can lead to a building ending up on the
city's dangerous buildings list, said Jim Galford, the city's code enforcer.

"It could be a deteriorating roof, unsafe porches, the
foundation is collapsing, utilities are shut off … there are about 200 possible
violations on the books," said Galford.

As the city's code enforcer, Galford and his staff of three full-time employees are responsible for looking for houses that are in violation of the city's code.

That means driving around neighborhoods, but also relying on tips from neighbors.

"Our staff is always looking at houses, but like most communities, we rely on good citizens to report issues to us," said Galford. "Frequently, you have people trying to sell their house, and they'll call and let us know of problems because they're afraid it's going to ruin their sale."

Once a problem is reported, city staff inspects and confirms it, and then begins a long process that can last for months upon months.

The photo slideshow above shows the most updated list of properties on the city's dangerous building list.

When a violation is brought to the attention of city officials,
the property owner is cited and given 30 days to address the issue. Most violations require repairs that would
take more than 30 days, says Galford, but the property owner needs to at least
acknowledge the issue with the city and show a plan on how to address it. If
nothing is done in that first 30 days, a second 30-day notice is sent.

If the property owner still doesn't respond, a notice is
sent for an administrative hearing. The city contracts an independent judge
from a neighboring community to run the hearing, presenting the evidence of the
violation and hearing both parties' side of the story. A judge can then issue
an order for the property owner to obtain permits within 10 days and begin work
on the needed repair within 30 days, with a plan to complete the repairs within
90 days.

If that doesn't happen, then a public hearing is scheduled
in front of the Bay City Commission. The commissioners can uphold the hearing
officer's order, set it aside or modify the order, said Galford. Following that
hearing, the property owner has another 60 days to make any repairs to the
issue. During that time period, city officials begin gathering bids from
contractors to take down the house.

Following that 60-day period, the contractor would then
need approval from the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality to handle
the demolition. Additionally, all utilities need to be retired from the
property, including the removing of gas service lines that connect to the house
said Galford. Consumers Energy handles that process and it can take anywhere
from four to six weeks.

Once all of that has happened — potentially eight to 12
months later — then a building could be demolished, said Galford.

Many of the properties on the city's dangerous buildings
list are beyond repair, said Galford, but there are a few, he says, in the
process of being repaired. Galford estimates at least three properties are
currently occupied.

"Those are really problematic," he said. "If and when it
gets to the point where a property would need to go to demolition, the courts
are always reluctant to kick someone out of a property, even if it is terrible
condition."

This home at 300 S. Mountain St. in Bay City is scheduled to be the first demolished using state grant money earmarked for addressing blight issues. The home is set to come down on April 9.

Five of the 14 properties scheduled for demolition this
April and May went through the dangerous buildings process, taking several
months to finalize, said Galford. Ownership of the other nine was transferred
to the city from Bay County.

Weather pending, on Wednesday, April 9, the first of those
14 homes is scheduled to come down. Located at 300 S. Mountain St., the property
was home to a former meth lab, said Galford.

"That's an important one to knock down and get this process
going," he said.

Demolition on the remaining 13 properties is scheduled
through the end of May.

The city's building department is working quickly to spend
the remaining $100,000 from the state grant it was awarded last year and ready
eight additional buildings for demolition. That money must be spent by May 31.

In the meantime, city and civic leaders are trying to figure
out what can be done to knock down more buildings, but also what can be done to
prevent buildings from ending up on the dangerous building list.

Vacant Lots

In 2009, former Bay City Mayor Charles Brunner, who now serves as a state representative for the 96th District, started a neighborhood
revitalization committee that aimed to have residents clean up neighborhoods in
the city and motivate residents in the more run-down neighborhoods to take
pride in where they live.

"We're the boots on the ground," said Forrest Robinson, a
member of that committee, which is now run by Mayor Christopher Shannon.
"People see what we do in those neighborhoods and we think they make a big
impact and can change the attitudes of residents."

That committee is trying to evolve into one that isn't just
focused on cleaning up neighborhoods, but also one that tackles blight and thinks
of creative ideas to improve the image of city neighborhoods.

Robinson introduced one of those ideas at a March 17 City
Commission meeting.

The Residential Obsolete Property Enhancement Act of 2014 — or ROPE — would provide an incentive for property owners to buy empty lots where
blighted homes once stood. To encourage those next door landowners of blighted
properties in Bay City to take title of the vacant property, the city would
eliminate the property tax on the parcel for five years. Normal tax rates would
go to full assessment thereafter.

The act was sent to the city's attorney for further review,
but Robinson says it could be enough enticement to encourage people to expand
their yards and make a neighborhood more pleasant on the eyes.

"This can produce better neighborhoods and encourage
families to stay and move into Bay City," he said. "Once we start knocking down
more houses, those lots will need maintenance, so we want to encourage people
to buy the land and create a better living environment."

Galford says he's been in code enforcement for 30 years,
including work in Saginaw, Flint and Grand Rapids, and says he can only
remember two to three people in his tenure who bought a lot next door after a
blighted property was knocked down.

"It's just very unusual for that to happen," he said.

Targeting landlords

At that same City Commission meeting earlier this month,
Commissioner Elizabeth Peters, 2nd Ward, said Bay City needed a dedicated
blight task force, similar to groups created in Detroit.

"If they can do it in Detroit, there shouldn't be any reason
why we can't do it in Bay City," she said.

Mary Donnelly, chairwoman of the Mayor's Neighborhood
Revitalization Committee said her group could be that blight task force.

"That's what we're focused on here," said Donnelly. "We know
the neighborhoods, we know the problem."

But instead of focusing on properties that are already
considered blight, Donnelly said the focus needs to be on what she calls Bay
City's slum-landlord problem.

"It's because of those bad landlords that we have in Bay
City that I agreed to take over this committee," said Donnelly. "They're the
ones causing the crime and drug issues, so let's get rid of them"

Donnelly says the first step is creating a city database of
all rental properties.

"And the second step is being aggressive with inspections,"
she said.

"This has been a problem in Bay City for too many years and
for some reason, our past city managers never wanted to deal with that."

That could change with Finn at the helm.

Finn's ideas

Rick Finn at his desk on the first official day as Bay City Manager Monday, March 17, at Bay City Hall.Yfat Yossifor | The Bay City Times

Bay City Mayor Shannon said one of the top reasons he wanted
Finn to become the city's next manager during the interviewing process is because of his experience in dealing with blight.

"I think this is such an important issue that when we were
looking at candidates, his experience of battling blight in municipalities
really showed he had an understanding of the problem," said Shannon.

Finn previously worked as manager in Sandusky, Ohio; Tacoma Park, Md.; Sun Prairie Wis.; and Peekskill, N.Y. It was his work in
Tacoma Park, a suburb of Washington, D.C., though, that he says could translate
into progress in Bay City when it comes to dealing with landlords and rental properties.

More than 50 percent of the units in Tacoma Park were
rentals, said Finn, so he spearheaded a rental inspection program. Each year,
inspectors would make sure the minimum requirements were met for rental
properties based on current building codes. Those landlords needed to pass the
inspection before receiving their license to operate the rental unit.

If the landlord was dependable and kept a property in good
shape, inspections could be reduced from each year to every three years.

"The first problem here is we don't know how many rental
units there are," said Finn. "I think we need to go out, adopt an ordinance to
identify rental properties and get landlords licensed."

Finn said landlords that don't register with the city would
be subject to a $1,000 penalty if caught.

"It has to send a message that we're serious about this," he
said. "These people are running a business which happens to be providing space
for our residents to live — we have a responsibility that our residents at
least have the bare minimum level."

In Tacoma Park, licensing ran $100 per unit, so if a
landlord had a 20-unit building, it would cost $2,000 to be licensed. That
money went into a special fund that paid the inspectors.

"In Tacoma Park, we had four full-time inspectors," said
Finn. "They inspected properties continuously through the year."

Based on his professional experience, Finn also said the
city needs to be more aggressive when it comes to dealing with inspections and
building code violations.

"The first time, we send a very nice letter letting the
property owner know that they don't want to be in violation of the code and in
the spirit of cooperation to have them please take the steps to get the problem
fixed," said Finn. "That works a lot of time.

"The second letter isn't as cordial. The third letter is a
citation and they can pay the fine or go to court."

Heading into his third week on the job, Finn has said he
plans to meet with all members of the City Commission and Mayor Shannon to talk
about personal goals and objectives for the city. He said those meetings
continued over the weekend.

In the first 60 days, he hopes to have an initial plan for the
city, based on feedback from the commissioners and on the meetings he's sat in
on since starting on March 17.

While he says many topics — including street repairs and
economic development — could take precedent over dealing with blight, he
expects it to be a top priority.

"It's very clear that this community is extremely supportive
of dealing with blight," said Finn. "That's an important start. Now we need to
gather these ideas and come up with a plan."

On Thursday, March 28, Sibley walked near his West Side neighborhood in the 8th Ward looking at some of the blighted homes near his home.

"Everyone in this neighborhood is going to be very happy when these houses come down," said Sibley, referring to a home at 402 E. North Union St. "Bottom line, these homes don't increase the taxable value of our homes and they're certainly not helping our problem of losing population in Bay City.

"At this point, I can't see any other argument on why we shouldn't be knocking these down."